Greater Kaohsiung mayor-elect Chen Chu announced her new cabinet picks yesterday, which include six female executives and five Hakka officials. Chen explained that aside from filling the posts with qualified candidates, she also seeks to maintain a balance in gender and ethnic representation in her administration.

Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu's three deputy mayors and 33 department and bureau heads will remain at their posts when Kaohsiung City merges with Kaohsiung County later this week.

The average age of her mini-Cabinet members is 52, and the team includes six female and five Hakka officials. Chen says that her primary considerations were professional qualifications, and ethnic and gender balance.

Her current deputy mayor, Lee Yung-te, will be staying on at his post, while Chen Chi-yu and Liu Shih-fang, who worked on her campaign team, have also been named deputy mayors.

Kaohsiung City Civil Affairs Bureau Director-General Huang Chao-hui has been named supervisor of the Kaohsiung City Secretariat, and will be replaced by Kaohsiung County Civil Affairs Department Director-General Chiu Chih-wei.

Former Economic Affairs Minister Ho Mei-yueh failed to make Chen's cut.

Six of the ten new members of Chen's mini-Cabinet are from the Kaohsiung County Government, including the heads of the Agriculture Department and Water Resources Bureau.